Hope for Life Blog

2012 is Leap Year so we have an extra day this year.  My calendar has February 29 on it and that is a day that was not on my last three calendars.  Nor will it be on my next three.  I have read that we really do not have any extra time during the year, since every year has one-fourth of a day that does not show up on paper until Leap Year.  So I guess I do not actually have an extra day this year.  In some ways that is very disappointing.  I was looking forward to the fun things I could do with an extra day off.  Surely no one would have to work, not even on chores at home.  Maybe it would be a designated party day, or national goof-off day.

Or maybe I should do something productive.  How about a day to help the poor and needy in my community?  Maybe it should be a world Armistice Day with no fighting allowed.  But evidently there really is not any extra time.  Of course, some people are saying it does not matter anyway since the world is apparently going to end this year.  The Mayans made a calendar a long time ago that runs out of days this year.  I need to know if that is right.  After all, if this world is about to end there may be some things I would do differently.  Be nicer.  Or maybe be meaner.

It is very confusing.  What do I do with my time?  And how much time exactly do I have?  What would you do if you knew exactly how much time you had left?

The truth is that I do not worry about how much time I have, or what to do with it.  Those questions were answered for me when I became a Christian.  My purpose in life is to use my time to glorify God by doing the good works God has planned for me.  My life matters.  I have a reason to get up and a reason for my life.  I will spend whatever time I have in this life doing that.

So how long will I have to do it?  I don’t know and I really don’t care.  Either Jesus will come back to this world and take me to live with God forever, or I will die and go live with God forever.  So how much time do I have?  Forever.  Some of it here, and the rest of it with God in heaven.  And that is very liberating in terms of how I live my life.

I believe God has planned work for you to do also.  He has a purpose for you time and for your life.

Blessings,

steve

In the Bible, we read about something called the Sabbath. It was a day of rest. One day each week, God’s people were to abstain from work.

They didn’t stay in bed all day. It was a day for being with family, for worship and for recreation. It was a time for all the things that could get neglected during the regular work week. The principal goal of the day was rest.

Rest has a bad reputation today. For many, the word “rest” smacks of laziness and sloth. We live in an “always on” society, where people brag of their ability to multitask (which is another word for not concentrating on any one thing!). Our cell phones beckon us night and day. E-mails clamor for our attention. We want instant, we want immediate, we want everything done now. Where does rest fit into such a society?

If you’re getting ahead of me, you probably think I’m going to propose that we return to one day per week of rest. While that’s certainly a positive thing, I don’t think it’s enough. I don’t think we should be satisfied with one day of rest. I don’t think we should be satisfied with weeks or months of rest.

We should be seeking rest that has no end. In the Bible, the writer of the book we call Hebrews says, “So then, there remains a Sabbath rest for the people of God, for whoever has entered God’s rest has also rested from his works as God did from his.” (Hebrews 4:9-10)

This isn’t a one-day-a-week rest. It’s a one-day-that-never-ends rest. He’s talking about the rest we’ll have when this life is over, the rest that we’ll have with God.

That’s the Sabbath I want. Not just one day. I want to come into the presence of God and know that I can forever turn off my cell phone, shut down my computer and enjoy being with Him. I won’t have to worry about work or bills or retirement any more. All I will have to do is rest.

That same writer goes on to write, “Let us therefore strive to enter that rest, so that no one may fall by the same sort of disobedience.” (Hebrews 4:11) Sounds like a good goal, the same goal people had under the old Sabbath. The goal is rest, God’s rest, the eternal Sabbath.

You may have seen “David After Dentist,” the video of a young boy recovering from anesthesia after a trip to the dentist. The Internet video has “gone viral,” as they say, with over 50 million people having watched it.

At one point, David asks, “Is this gonna be forever?” Children don’t realize that anesthesia is only temporary. They don’t have enough experience to have proper perspective on many things. Children don’t know that common illnesses won’t stay with them the rest of their lives. They haven’t had enough headaches or toothaches to realize that these things usually go away with time.

It’s not only children that lack perspective. To one degree or another, we all suffer from that same problem. When we are facing a crisis, it’s hard to know just how important that crisis will turn out to be in the grand scheme of things. What seems so critical today may have been forgotten five years from now.

What if we were to look at things not in terms of years or decades but in terms of eternity? How would that affect our perspective? The highs and lows of life may not seem quite so high nor quite so low. Problems would lose their power. An eternal perspective would certainly change things.

The apostle Paul wrote to the Christians in Rome: “I consider that our present sufferings are not worth comparing with the glory that will be revealed in us.” (Romans 8:18) Paul was a man who had been beaten, imprisoned, and shipwrecked. Once a mob threw stones at him until they thought he was dead. He lived a very difficult life, yet felt that his hard times couldn’t begin to compare with the eternity that was waiting for him.

Imagine if we could paint a stripe to represent eternity. A stripe with no beginning or end, stretching for miles and miles. If we were to then draw the span of our lives on that never-ending stripe, how big would it be? If we were to make the smallest possible dot, it would be too large. Our lives are nothing compared to eternity.

In another letter, Paul wrote, “For our light and momentary troubles are achieving for us an eternal glory that far outweighs them all.” (2 Corinthians 4:17) That’s the perspective we need. That’s what can help us handle whatever this life can throw at us. No matter how big it is, no problem is as big as eternity.

Is this gonna be forever? No, it’s not. Unless you’re talking about your relationship with God, whatever it is, it’s not going to be forever. Problems will come and go, but God will be with us forever. If you’re not in a good relationship with Him, I’d love to try and help. Write to me at tarcher@heraldoftruth.org or visit our blog on www.hopeforlife.org.

There was an old country doctor who would take his dog along with him when visiting patients. The dog would remain outside while the doctor went in for the house call.

On one occasion, the physician went to the home of a man with a terminal disease who didn’t seem to have much time to live. The man confessed to the doctor his fears about death and said, “What’s it like when you die?”

The doctor thought for a moment, then got up and opened the front door. His loyal canine friend, who had been waiting patiently on the porch, gleefully bounded in to join his master.

The doctor turned to the dying man and said, “Do you see this dog? He didn’t have any idea what was on this side of that door. All he knew was that his master was there, and he wanted to be with him.”

“That’s how I feel about death,” the physician continued. “I don’t really know all the whats and hows about dying. I’m not totally sure what’s on the other side of that door. But I know who is there, and that’s enough for me. I’m looking forward to being with my Master.”

Death can be a frightening thing. There is so much uncertainty. There are a lot of things I just don’t know.

Some claim to be able to explain everything that will happen when we die. I’m not one of those people. I don’t know a lot of things about death.

Some debate what life after death will be like. I don’t join those discussions. I don’t know all the details about what will happen when I die.

I do know who is waiting for me. I do know that I will leave this world to be with Jesus. That’s enough knowledge for me.

The apostle John wrote: “Dear friends, now we are children of God, and what we will be has not yet been made known. But we know that when he appears, we shall be like him, for we shall see him as he is.” (1 John 3:2) We don’t know what we will be, but we will be like him. And we will be with him.

You don’t have to be afraid of what’s on the other side of the door. You can focus on who is on the other side of the door. Isn’t that a better way to approach the end of our life here on earth?